It's Never Over
by SafireRansomePoseidonsDaughter
Summary: FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! Heroes. That's one way to describe them. But what hero can't control her mind? Look at Annabeth. What hero can't control herself? Safire and Bobby. What hero can control Fate? None. So it's not your fault if you get kidnapped. Look at Leo and Reyna. Taken. Look at Lila. Lost. No one can control Fate. Or is it destiny? Or just plain bad luck? Probably the last.
1. Chapter 1

**FULL SUMMARY:**

**Heroes. That's one way to describe what hero can't control her mind? Look at Annabeth. What hero can't control herself? Safire and Bobby. What hero can't protect herself? Courtney. What hero can control Fate? None. So it's not your fault if you get kidnapped. Look at Leo and Reyna. Taken. Look at Lila. Lost. It is never over. Even the toughest have their breaking points. No one can control Fate. Or is it destiny? Or just plain bad luck? Probably the last. Join these demigods on their quests, and watch them try to fight for peace, and even their own freedom. Co-written by Candyisyummy83 and SafireRansomePoseidonsDaughter.**

My name is Safire Ransome. I'm a daughter of Poseidon.

I have long, slightly wavy black hair, hard sea-green eyes, and tanned skin from my Asian descent. All in all, I never wanted to be a demigod. It's dangerous, scary, and gets you killed in slow, extremely painful ways. I'm only thirteen, and yet, I've seen so many monsters that it could rival the number of times that Spiderman has swung from skyscrapers. And that's not even the sad part. The biggest thing? It's never over.

For example, one of my best friends, Bobby Smith, was being chased by a hellhound.

Bobby has shoulder length brown hair, and fierce tawny brown eyes with a hint of amber. She's loyal, brave, and (once you get past her concrete wall of dry sarcasm) a really good friend. Her dad is Hermes, which makes her sneaky, and an excellent thief. Bobby's also got a pack full of weapons, (gifted by her dad) from silver swords to jars of Greek fire.

We were coming back from a day at a water park, Christmas shopping, and visiting Sally. Since my mum died when I was six in an airplane crash, (thanks Zeus) I had been running from foster home to orphanages, and living in the streets. When I came to camp last year after the Giant War, Sally had become my parent/guardian/step-mum. So, the only reason Chiron let us go was because it was Bobby's birthday, and because I missed Sally. Aside from the dracaena at the water park cafe, everything had gone well until we got to Half-Blood Hill.

Bobby and I were walking back up Half-Blood Hill, talking about our day. It was great that we only got a dracaena for the day, as my dad was one of the Big Three.

Well, we should've known that our luck wouldn't hold.

Suddenly, a low, feral growl rumbles from the edge of the forest. We freeze. "Hellhound." Bobby whispers, her bronze sword slowly materialising into her hand. She always amazes me with her ability to tell which monsters were which without looking. I can't , because for me, they all belong to the family Ugly. I reach down towards my dagger, Tempest.

The hound shoots out of the forest in a blur of motion, charging towards us. It was about the length of a five-seater couch, and about as thick as a shower cubicle. It's mangy black fur blends in with the shadows of dusk, and it's huge red eyes burn with hate and hunger.

Bobby leaps sideways, out of the dogs range. I stab it in the nose, then follow Bobby, rolling away. The hellhound turns on us, its nose dripping scarlet. Suddenly, it howls... right in our faces.

This might not have been seen as a problem, but this beast had probably feasting on a bajillion carcasses. To say its breath stank would be a complete misnomer. Its jaw literally unhinges, and his slimy red tongue waggles as it blasts toxic air (would it even be called air?) in our faces. Total pollution.

I stagger back, eyes streaming. Bobby runs out of the gas cloud and slashes a huge wound on the hound's side. Mr Disgusting Breath roars and stomps a paw down in front of her. Instantaneously, Bobby throws her sword into its eye, while I throw Tempest into his... rear. He disintegrates remarkably fast.

We stand there for a few moments, breathing heavily. Bobby grins.

"You know, that was a lot harder than it should have been." I don't even have enough time to react before another hellhound jumps out of the bushes.

"Damn, I should have known they travel in packs." Bobby sighs.

"Well it's on our weapons. Any ideas?" I ask, while I stare longingly at our weapons. Bobby pauses.

"Um... RUN!" It doesn't have to be said twice. We run in separate dirctions. The hellhound decides that Bobby looks more appetizing. It barrels after her.

"Here doggy! Good doggy! Yeah, you don't want to eat me! You want a nice- ARGH!" She screams. "Someone! Help!" I notice a faint silhouette at the top of the hill.

"Hey Bobby! Look!" I hiss. She follows my train of sight and grins. It disappears when the hellhound slashes at her.

"Help! I'mabouttobeeatenbyafreakinghellhoundandi'lldiesoon!" She screams. I turn to the person, who spun around. I notice that she had scars running down her arms.

The person is a girl, a really pretty girl. She has caramel hair and a dagger lays sheathed on her hip. Suddenly, she screams at the hound.

"Hey you! Yeah, you! You don't want to eat her right? Just come closer and I'll give you a pat. Okay?" To my surprise, the dog boundsover to the girl. As soon as it reaches her, she rips out her dagger and stabbed it. She turns to me.

"Hi! I'm Courtney!" Bobby raises her eyebrows.

"Well ain't you just a ray of sunshine." She mumbles.

"She's an auburn Jason Grace. Do NOT tell me she flies." I say. She laughs. Her laughter sounds like bells. It's a great sound.

"Well, I'm just a generally cheerful person." She says. "And I don't fly." Then she mock frowns. "At least, not to my knowledge." Bobby and I crack up.

"And who are you guys? You can't be mortal, I mean, no mortal could run that fast." She smiles. "Or scream that loud." Bobby glances worriedly at me. I stick my tongue out at Courtney.

"No duh. Of course we're not mortals! And you're carrying a weapon. Celestial bronze if I ever saw it. Don't be a hypocrite." Bobby follows my lead.

"Yeah, probably a daughter of Demeter with her hair color and animal handling. Come on, let's go to camp." She says. I nod.

OoOoOoOoO

We all run up to Half-Blood hill. On the way, we hear shouting.

"No, Leo! Don't let that- You know what? This is horrible! And it's supposed to be holidays. Geez Leo. What part of peaceful, happy holiday do you NOT understand?!" We come over the hill to see Percy and Leo trying (Keyword: trying) to decorate the Christmas tree.

"This is why I told Annabeth NEVER to put me on Christmas tree duty. I get picky about all of the little things, then my brain explodes. But lighting the tree on fire? Even Lacy would hate that." The Christmas tree looks like a decorated bonfire. It is humorous too, because Percy holds Leo by the scruff of his collar. Leo raises his hands up in surrender.

"Fine boss, I'll put it out. Please put me down." Leo says. Percy smirks, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Oh, I'LL put you down." Leo puts out the tree, and Percy walks over to the boys bathroom. Bobby and I followed, amused.

We peek in the bathroom, (it REEKED!) and see Leo stuck in a toilet, a ridiculous look on his face. Percy stands over him, looking satisfied.

Bobby and I fall to the ground laughing. Tears stream out of my eyes. Bobby starts coughing, but when she's finished, all she has to do is look at Leo, and she starts laughing again.

"The look on his face!" Bobby breaths out between laughs. I agree.

"I'll NEVER let him hear the end of that." I hoot. Percy grins.

"So. Who here likes my handiwork?" We raise our hands weakly. A crowd has formed. Everyone starts laughing when they saw Leo.

"What's going on here?" Fumes Annabeth. Annabeth... She is gonna kill my brother.

"I may have stuffed Leo down a toilet." Percy plays innocent.

"And why, might you have done that?" Angry Annabeth= dead everyone else. I step in.

"Because he lit the tree on fire." I said, giving Annabeth an apologetic look. Percy grins at me. What can I say? I'm an awesome sister.

"Is that so wrong?" Asks Leo. Annabeth glares into the bathroom.

"Yes. We worked hard on that thing." Annabeth replies.

"Pssh. There are plenty of other plastic trees out there." Leo says indignantly.

"Shut it Valdez." Says Annabeth. "When you get out, I'm having a word with you." Leo looks terrified, which sends me and Bobby back to the ground laughing.

Later, Bobby and I walk over to the targets to do some archery. We see Rachel Elizabeth Dare there.

"Oh, hey Rachel." I say.

"What's u-" she groans and clutches her stomach, keeling over. She stands up again, her eyes glowing green.

"Three shall find the one who is lost.

To see the land covered in frost.

One will join them, making four.

Giving them knowledge that they never saw.

And for the daughter of Demeter, a piece of advice:

When it comes to river spirits, you can never be too nice.

One choice may cause olympus to fall.

Making all other challenges seem very small..." she collapses and Bobby catches her. Bobby looks at me. She looks scared.

"Houston, we have a problem." She says.

_Imma LINE BREAK! _

(Skip to big house meeting)

"That prophecy sounds scary." Travis shudders. Connor looks at him like, _duh._

"I know." Percy agrees. "I for one, do not want to see the land covered in frost."

"But who is-" I'm cut off by Piper shrieking.

"Leo just disappeared!" I face-palm. It's obvious now.

"But who's going on the quest?" Asks Annabeth.

"Bobby should lead it. She's never had a quest before." Says Chiron. "Mr. D?" Dionysus looks up from his magazine.

"Huh? On whatever. Do what you want. Don't kill each other quite yet k? I need popcorn for that." I roll my eyes. Mr. D isn't so bad. He's just so damned lazy. Bobby nods, looking kind of excited.

"I want Safire and Courtney to come with me." She says eagerly.

"Well, no duh! I'm not going out there without them. Seriously people, remind me next time to get Leo to build a facial speech recognizer."

Courtney grins. "Of course I'll go! These two, are like, AWESOME!"

"We'll get the Apollo kids to grab some supplies for you. Ambrosia, nectar, spare clothing, things like that. We'll also get you a bunch of drachmas and mortal money. Now, go get ready." Says Chiron, smiling kindly.

I run back to cabin three, thrilled. Even though there is a high risk of me dying painfully, I still feel awesome.

I grab my charm bracelet with a trident hanging from it. I had found it when I'd gotten my dagger, Tempest, which created earthquakes. When I wanted it to, the bracelet transformed into a bow with arrows. Any type of arrow that I wanted appears on the string when I will it to.

Percy walks in, holding something in his hand. He hands it to me, beaming. It's a pearl suspended on a fine silver chain, with a sheen of green sapphire surrounding it, and the pattern looks like fire. I look at it and smile. It is my name. Green fire from the sea.

Then I notice something. Carved on the pearl are various god's symbols. A trident, caduceus, lightning bolt, owl, dove, fireball, a spear, a diamond, skull, wheat, and a torch. I realise that these are the symbols of my friend's parents. Percy, Bobby, Travis, Connor, Atlanta, Jason, Thalia, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Nico, Katie, Miranda, and... someone else.

Percy finally speaks."Dad wanted you to have that. It has the power of the love that your friends give you. I think the last symbol is a daughter of Hecate, Lilian Carter. I'm sure you'll be friends. Also, when you meet new people, they are magically added. If the new people can't be trusted, the pendant will heat up and turn yellow. Once in a week, you can use this to blast a force ring out that can kill every monster around you within 50 metres."

I grin. "Thanks Perce." What can I say? He can be an awesome brother when he wants to. He nods, walking out of the cabin.

Bobby is waiting for me outside. She's wearing her weapons bag

Over her shoulder and she is clutching a small bundle nervously.

"Safire come on- wow that pendant is cool! Where'd you get it? You didn't have it a minute ago." Bobby says. I grin.

"Gift fron my dearest father." She nods.

"This is from Demeter." She holds out the bundle. "I'm supposed to open it when I'm in trouble." I nod.

"Cool." I say. Courtney walks up. She compliments me on the pendant and Chiron walks up, wishing us well. We then head out into the darkness.

This was going to be a long night.

Wait, we didn't even get to sleep?!


	2. Chapter 2

My name is Bobby Smith. I'm a daughter of Hermes. My best friend is Safire Ransome, a daughter of Poseidon, and we're going on a quest together with Courtney, a daughter of Demeter. Dunno her last name.

Everything was going fine. Until I fell asleep. I know, I know, real smooth. But I didn't get to sleep, and I was exhausted. One minute, we were walking along, the next, I'm snoring. Don't ask me where we were. You'll find out.

Demigod dreams are tough. They are never normal dreams, they're glimpses of the future, past, and present. So this dream terrified me.

In the dream I see a giant Dark thing. It's face was covered by a black hood and it had long fangs. It had thick sharp claws dripping with something slimy. I would bet every one of my drachmas that they were poisoned.

"I hear they are on a quest?" It says. It's voice is deep and scratchy, definitely not human.

"Yes. They are coming here." Says a high pitched and smooth tone. I see a skimpy monster. It's also covered by a hood, with long, thin, limbs tipped with sharp claws. It's eyes glow red and purple.

"Good. Let them come to Seattle. Then send an attack to them." Says the Dark one.

"Yes master. I will not fail." The lesser monster disappears in a storm of cherries. I want to laugh and taunt the monster, but decide against it, and wait to see what the big one will do.

Instead, I wake up in a cold sweat. I see Courtney is awake, but barely. Safire's kinda drooling. Children of Poseidon thing? Yeah, I've seen Percy sleep before. When he's not annoying the heck out of me, he's pretty cool.

Just for the record, I hate men. So do NOT get any ideas.

"You can go to sleep Courtney. I'll take the next watch." I say. She nods.

(Time skip to the morning.)

I yawn. "That was nice." Safire and Courtney nod.

"Yep. I love sleeping almost as much as I love annoying Percy. And I LOVE annoying Percy." Safire agrees.

"Come on, let's go to some greasy food diner. I am in desperate need of a burger and fries." I suggest. Safire nods and Courtney shrugs.

We exit the forest, but not before I change out of the clothes I slept in, which are all wrinkled, dirty, and stained with the morning dew.

We walk into a diner. I order a regular burger with fries and a milkshake. Safire orders a cheeseburger. Courtney orders some fries.

"With great power comes great need to eat greasy food." I say. Safire grins. We finish our food.

"Well this is good. No monster attacks so far." Safire says, glancing around.

I also take in our surroundings. Nothing seems out of the ordinary.

She spoke too soon. The lady who gave us our food turns into a empousa, and a giant hellhound appears next to her.

"Jinxed it." Safire groans. A bunch of imperial gold tipped spears appear in my hand. A bow and arrow appears in Safire's hand. (That girl never ceases to amaze me.) Courtney draws her dagger. The hellhound lunges at her, but she jumps out of the way. I figure she's got it covered.

I throw my spear at the empousa and it takes her arm down with the ship.

"I hate those things. They think they're so special." Safire mutters. She shoots an arrow at the empousai and nails it in the eye. The monster hisses as the hellhound turns to dust at Courtney's hands.

The emposa raises her arm and another hellhound forms, catching Courtney off guard. Safire shoots an explosive arrow at it and it explodes. My spears disappear and my bronze magic sword appears in my hand. I slice at the monster's chest and it sinks it's fangs in my arm.

Pain shoots through me. I back away. Safire gets hit in the leg by a dart, thrown by the monster. Courtney gets hit in the stomach by another one. We stand together.

"Well, I guess this is it." I say. Safire nods.

"Nice fighting with you." "We charge in 3... 2... 1-" the empousa turns to dust, with a spear and two arrows in the pile. My spear flies into my hand, I squint around, looking for the owner of said second arrow. Instead, I see a pair of evergreen eyes I had hoped I'd never see again.

"Kai." I snarl. He smirks.

"Bobby. Long time no see." "Why are you here? To get back at me for taking the glory on your quest?" I ask. His eyes narrow.

"I just saved your lives. Be more grateful." I purse my lips.

"We don't need your help. Ugh. I guess we owe you." The words are forced and highly reluctant. And he knows it. But he smiles.

"Let me heal your wounds Bobby Smith. We have a lot of catching up to do."

(Time skip)

My arm is in a sling. Nectar and ambrosia work amazingly, but they take time. Safire takes my uninjured arm and leads me away from Kai and Courtney, who are making small talk.

"Spill. Where do you know Kai from?" Safire asks. I sigh.

"He is a son of Apollo. Major jerk. He thinks because he's good with healing and archery he'll rule the world someday. At one point, we were friends. He chose me to go on a quest with him, and I accept. But then I defeated and saved the people that HE was supposed to defeat and save, and he turned into a jerkface. Only guy I ever respected except for Travis, and he's gone." Safire frowns.

"Sounds like the kind of guy I would hate." I crack a smile.

"Oh yeah, because everyone else just loves glory-hungry a-holes." We both start laughing. We walk back to Courtney and Kai and pack up our stuff.

"Where are you going?" Kai asks.

"To finish the quest derp bag." I say. He scowls. "Oh yeah, and you can have this back." I take off the sling and throw it in his face.

"That's a nice look for you." Courtney says. Safire chuckles.

"Toodles Kai!" I say. He glares at me. I grin, and we leave.

We're walking along.

"We won't ever get to Seattle by foot." I mumble. (Chiron told us to go to Seattle, for future reference.) Safire nods.

"Let's take a train." I say. We walk over to the train station and get three tickets West. We sit on the train, and I doze off, hoping for a dream-free rest. I was wrong.

I was at camp. Everything was frozen. I ran to the Demeter cabin. Lucy was frozen too. My eyes widen, and I run to the big house, seeing Chiron frozen. I see myself, on an IM, looking horrified.

"Who did this?" I ask. I hear Safire's voice.

"The Boreads. Khoine. Any psycho god or Titan... This is the land covered in frost..." the dream fades away, and I wake up in a cold sweat. Safire and Courtney are sleeping. I sigh.

Nightmares suck.


	3. Chapter 3

Safire POV:

We spend the whole day on the train, dozing off and chatting together, talking about ourselves. Courtney doesnt say much, though. When the train finally stops, we're all relieved. We still have two more days on the train until we get to Seattle. I stretch on the platform, cracking my neck and my spine. Bobby turns to me and announces, "We will find a motel to spend the night. Dinner shall be greasy!"

We quickly find a small, somewhat clean motel on the side of the road. As soon as we get in the room, I collapse on the couch and groan. Bobby grins at me. "You wanna take the couch, Sleeping Beauty?" She says. I groan again. "Fine. But we haven't had dinner yet. Who wants to be the waitress and go grab food from that place over there?" I point to a small fast food shop next to the motel.

Courtney raises her hand. "I'll go!" She exclaimed a bit too enthusiastically. Bobby sticks her tongue out at her. "You just want to go so you can eat first. I'll go. So long, suckers!" She rushes out the door, stopping to grab some money from our packs. As soon as the door slams shut, awkward tension reigns supreme.

Suddenly, I come to a realisation, and burst out laughing. Courtney stares at me. Not like I'm crazy, (she's definitely seen weirder) but in a what-the-hell-are-you-laughing-about sort of way. I hold up a hand, clutching the other to my stomach. "She forgot to take the room key!" I gasp out, still wheezing. Courtney laughs along.

After about ten minutes, Bobby knocks on the door. I open it and she rushes in carrying the food. We dig in, and soon, it's gone.

Bobby fiddles with a plastic spoon, while Courtney stares into space. I draw a small crescent moon in my sketchbook, adding details as I go along. After about half an hour, my moon has been completed, with craters and shadows. I stretch and say, "Night! I'm gonna sleep now..."

Bobby nods. "How about we all sleep. We can chill on the train tomorrow. Night!" With that, she rolls into her bed and starts snoring. I look at Courtney. "Goodnight." She smiles. "Sleep tight."

Looks like that wasn't going to happen.

Cheese, cheese, cheese.

Wait, what?  
>In my dream, I'm stuck in a huge glob of blue cheese. It's all that I can see, and it doesn't smell very glorious either. I'm about to suffocate, when something pulls me out.<br>It's Courtney. I say, "Gods, tha-"  
>I trail off, looking at her. Her normally bright eyes have become a swirling vortex of black, purple, and red. Her lips are black, and so are her veins, which I can see, rising from her pale white skin.<br>Suddenly, claws shoot out of her hands, dripping with poison. She lunges.

I'm ripped out of my dream.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey peeps! I'm Candyisyummy83, and over there is Safire. We've gone without author's notes for a bit, but here's one :D. We don't own PJO or HoO. So no sue, kk? Hope you enjoy!**

** Percy: HOLD IT! SUE THEM!**

** SAFIRE: *Throws rotten apple at Percy* RUN BOBBY!**

** ME: Hey, you know that in Ancient Greece, if you throw an apple at someone you propose to them?**

** SAFIRE: Well, the gods are more messed up then me! *Thunder* BYEEE!**

I hate dreams. They have this way of sneaking up on you like "oh, you're asleep? BAM! Nightmare." And this nightmare wasn't fun. At all.

I was at camp. Yeah, no normal demigod dream. But sometimes it happens. I saw... a monster. But... no. Not a monster. It had friggin long fangs, check. But it also had caramel hair and pitch black, swirling eyes. It was Courtney, the new camper who was on a quest with Bobby and my little sister.

Oh yeah, I'm Percy Jackson. Savior of Olympus, son of Poseidon, blah blah blah...

"Hey! Courtney! Care to explain why you're a -you know- monster?" I yell at her. She turns.

"Who, me? A monster? You have got to be kidding Percy." She says. I scoff.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" I retort. She snarls. Definitely a monster.

"I guess I'll have to kill you then." She pounces, probably supposed to be on me, on a figure in front of me. Blood splatters on my clothes, and I wake up.

Yep, great thing to wake up to. I slide out of my bunk in the Poseidon cabin. I would never say this out loud, but I'm worried about the quest. What if Courtney turns into a monster, like in my dream? A bajillion 'what if's' are running through my head as I change into a pair of blue jeans and a camp half blood t-shirt, making sure that I have pants. (Gods... I remember this one time...) I get to breakfast and eat blue pancakes, pouring a heck-load of syrup on them. Annabeth rolls her eyes at the Athena table, she has long since given up on trying to get me not to put so much syrup on them.

"Mornin Perce." Grover slides in next to me.

"Morning G-Man. Sleep well?"

"No. I dreamt of bunnies taking over the world! Can you imagine what it would be like?" I start laughing, really loud too, because some campers look at me funny. (Not that I care.)

"Quiet down over the seaweed brain!" Annabeth yells.

"Never!" I yell back. This brings a round of laughter from the camp. This dies down when Rachel stumbles in. She looks tired and completely worn out.

"Rachel!" I run over to her. I grab her shoulder. "Rachel, are you alright?" She looks at me.

"The visions." She replies. Her visions confuse me, so I nod. She falls to her knees and green smoke shoots around her. Prophecy time. Again, though?

"Three shall find the one who is lost.

To see the land covered in frost.

Child of wisdom, beware the owl.

The first is false, the second sound.

Two have perils waiting ahead.

One will say something they never said.

One choice may cause Olympus to fall.

Making all other challenges seem very small." Rachael collapses into my arms. I look at the camp, not a hint of humor on my face.

"Is it just me, or do we have twin prophecies?"

(Big house)

"This sucks." Says Annabeth. "Two quests, day's difference, and twin prophecies? We have lived trough two wars within two years! Isn't that enough?"

"A child of Athena is going. Annabeth?" Chiron says. My girlfriend nods, not exactly looking excited.

"Who should lead?" Annabeth asks. "I'm not. I really don't want to." Piper raises her hand nervously.

"I'll do it." Chiron nods.

"Piper, Annabeth. Who shall go with you?" Chiron asks.

"Percy." Both of them say. I sigh, but nod.

"Sure thing." I reply. "But who's missing?" I ask, voicing the question my sister wanted to ask yesterday. I lace my fingers through Annabeth's.

"I guess we'll have to find out." She says. After the meeting ends I go to the cabin to pack essentials.

Annabeth and I meet with Piper at the arena.

"Before we go, someone has to disappear." Piper states simply. I nod.

"Hey wise girl," I say. She looks at me. "Wanna spar?" She grins.

"You are going down seaweed brain." We spar 3 times. She wins once, I win once, and we call it a tie the third time, because we both end up with our weapons to each others throats at the same time.

"Guys! You gotta help!" Hazel runs into the arena. Her eyes are wide, and her expression is frantic.

"What's wrong Hazel?" Annabeth asks.

"It's Reyna. She-she's gone."


	5. Chapter 5

Lila creeps through the tall grass. Where the hell is her uncle?

She sighs, dropping down next to a tree. Since when did New York have this much nature? Her bubblegum-pink eyes are wide and anxious. She rips out some grass growing next to the tree. Lila exhales again, trying not to panic. Which is a little hard, you know, cause one second she's chilling out at the shops with her uncle, and the next she's stuck in this _forest._ So yeah, she is just_ peachy._

Lila stands up, determined to find out where she is and to find her _bloody _uncle. She's seriously pissed off, and she doesn't want to be the meal of a monster, but that's unlikely, because her mother is a minor goddess. Maybe she can find a fountain and Iris-message camp? Lila rubs her temples, dislodging some of her white-blond hair from its ponytail.

Huh. Maybe she'll just wander around for a bit longer.

_Bobby POV:_

After the night at the motel, we walk to the train station. Everything goes smoothly, but I'm thinking about Safire. She's been shifty towards Courtney since last night. Suddenly, two lines from the prophecy pop into my head.

_And for the daughter of Demeter, a piece of advice_

_When it comes to river spirits, you can never be too nice._

Maybe a naiad? Or maybe it's talking about something that looks like a naiad? I suddenly feel a headache coming on. Oh well, no good trying to guess prophecies. I sigh inwardly.

We're on the train, with Courtney fast asleep and Safire staring out the window. It might've been a picturesque scene if you painted it. Three girls chilling out on a train. One with long black hair and sea-green eyes. Another with auburn hair and bright green eyes. A third one with shoulder-length brown hair and amber eyes. But it probably would be more terrifying if you could actually tell what we were thinking. _Demigods. Monsters. Gods. Psychos. Quests. Leo. Prophecy.  
><em>

I look at Safire. "What's up with you and Courtney?"

She seems reluctant to meet my eyes. "Nothing. Just a dream." I raise my eyebrows.

Safire sighs and tells me everything. It leaves me half-stunned.

"But surely, you know, Courtney isn't evil, right?" She shrugs and looks back out the window.

After an hour, I fall asleep, leaving Safire on watch. When I wake up, we're at the last stop. I stretch and look at Safire. She pokes Courtney awake.

Suddenly, Courtney's eyes snap open and she slaps Safire. Hard.

"Courtney!" I scold. "Why on earth did you do that?!" We look at her expectantly.

_Courtney POV:_

They look at me expectantly. Part of me wants to say she deserved it. But I know she didn't.

"Sorry. In a bad mood this morning." I mutter, trying to calm down. Safire starts to protest, but Bobby cuts her off.

"Just drop it." She sighs. "Let's gather our stuff so we can get off."

The real reason I slapped her was this:

When I was younger, I was abused by my father. To say Demeter had bad taste would be putting it in the least. So dad woke me up by poking me hard. Then he grabbed my ear and made me do chores while constantly being beaten.

So my first reaction to Safire poking me was to slap her. My dad was an asshole.

"Okay. Now we're out! Let's go walk!" Bobby says enthusiastically.

"Yeah. Let's." I sat dryly. Safire shoots me a worried glance, but Bobby doesn't seem to notice my tone.

_ BACK TO BOBBY._

I instantly feel nervous when I hear Courtney's flat tone, but decide to ignore it, and charge forward with Safire and Courtney in tow.

While we walk, I can't help but wonder why Courtney's been acting weird. Maybe it has something to do with her past... I'm snapped out of my thoughts by a sound. Rustling. Suddenly, something charges out of the bushes. It's a girl. She has bubblegum pink eyes and white-blond hair.

"Huh? W-where am I?" She stutters, and looks at us expectantly.

"You're two-thirds of the way from Long Island to Seattle. Are you lost?" Safire asks. She nods sadly.

"I should be in NYC, looking for my uncle! Why am I in... uh, wherever this is? "

"I have no clue. What's your name?" Courtney asks.

"Lila. What's your names?" She asks.

"I'm Courtney." Courtney says.

"Bobby." I say.

'I'm Safire. You a demigod?' Safire throws caution to the wind. I have to keep myself from rolling my eyes.

Lila raises her eyebrow. 'Why should I tell you?'

Courtney smirks at her playfully. "You just did."

"I- yeah. I am." She says. I grin.

"Who's your parent?" I ask.

"Iris." She sighs.

"Cool. Safire's a daughter of Poseidon, Bobby's a daughter of Hermes, and my parent is Demeter." Courtney says.

"Maybe we should help you look for your uncle. What's he look like?" I ask.

"Um... he looks like me." She says. Well, that's not very informative. Unless her uncle has crazy eyes and long white hair.

I signal to Lila to wait, and we get in a huddle.

"Should we help her?" Courtney asks.

"I think we should." I say. Courtney nods.

"What about you Safire?" I ask.

'She looks alright, maybe she could help us till we get back?' Safire suggests.

I quickly nod as we get out of the huddle.

"We're gonna help." Courtney says. Lila beams. It's like looking into a flaring rainbow. Which makes sense, cause, you know...

"Thank you so much! Why are you guys, well, beat up?" She winces in sympathy but she had a point. There are scratches on our legs and arms. Our clothing is ripped and dirty, and to top it off, our hair is messed up. Like, really messed up.

"Oh. You know. Quests." I say. She nods, understanding dawning in her eyes.

"So, can you help us with our quest? We'll help find your uncle after." Courtney asks.

Lila ponders this for a minute. "Well, I don't like the statistics of dying, but you guys seem pretty decent so... Sure!"

While walking, we tell Lila about the prophecy, and the quest.

But I had been thinking about the wrong lines of the prophecy.

_One will join them, making four._

_Giving them knowledge that they never saw._


	6. Chapter 6

This wasn't good. At all. We were heading away from camp, lugging our belonging behind us. I can't stop worrying about Reyna. She's one of my best friends. I'm sure from that sentence you can guess who I am. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena at your service. And I'm on yet another quest with my boyfriend.

Olympus falling is a _huge_ possibility. People hate our parents. Like, a lot. I wonder who kidnapped Reyna and Leo. Maybe it's the same person, hiding them in separate places? It's another possibility.

"Hey Wise Girl, any idea how to get to Oregon?" Percy's voice draws me out of my thoughts.

"Head west then go south." I say absentmindedly. "We can ask people where we are if we get lost." Percy puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" I turn to look into his mesmerizing green eyes.

"Yeah. I'm just... thinking." He nods.

"If we run into a monster you'll have to-" Suddenly, about a dozen dracaena and hellhounds barrel out of the bushes. "Focus." Percy groans, uncapping Riptide. The familiar sound of his pen transforming is comforting as I take out my drakon bone sword. Piper draws Katoptris. A plan forms in my head.

"Piper, go for the four hellhounds over there. Percy, go for those four dracaena. I'll take out the rest." I say. They nod and run over to where I pointed them to. Percy swings Riptide in an arc and slices all 4 of his dracaena (plus one of mine) in half. As they explode into sand I slash a hellhound in the rear and stab another. They turn to dust. A dracaena slithers at me and I parry the strike it throws at me. I decapitate it and turn around to where Piper has killed the hellhounds.

"Great plan Wise Girl. As always." Percy says. He leans forward and kisses me, long enough for Piper to have to cough to remind us she was there. Awkward...

"Sorry." I say, knowing she didn't really mind. She smiles.

"I'm a daughter of Aphrodite. How can I not approve?" She says, smiling. I nod.

"Touché." I look around. "Damn, it would be nice to have Grover to tell us if there were any monsters." I drop to the ground and hug myself, leaning against a tree.

"But what would be the fun in that?" Says a _very_ familiar voice.

"Thalia!" I exclaim, spinning around. She's standing right behind us. I run up to her and crush her in a fierce hug. The rest of the Hunters, and Artemis, join us. I pull away. "What brings you here?" I ask, grinning widely. She shrugs.

"What, I can't see my best friends?" Thalia mocks hurt. I shake my head. "It's always great to see you Thalia." I say. She hugs Piper and then walks up to Percy, but he puts up his hands, backing away slightly.

"Eh, no hugs." He looks a little scared as Thalia makes a pouty face. "How could I EVER resist that face?" He sighs. They hug for approximately two seconds.

"That was so awkward, let's never do that again." Says Thalia, stepping back with an expression of immense relief on her face. Percy nods, and gulps.

"Unless our lives depend on it." He says.

"But even then I might think twice." Retorts Thalia. Percy shrugs.

"Why were you guys even in this area? I know you. You wouldn't be here unless there were threats." I say. Thalia sighs. But Artemis is the one who answers.

"It doesn't help that you are some of the most powerful demigods in the world." Percy sighs. We're doing that a lot lately.

"I can mention a lot more powerful demigods than-" I smack him in the shoulder.

"Be respectful Seaweed Brain. She's a goddess." He raises his eyebrows, but keeps his mouth shut. Hey! Seaweed Brain did something quite smart! Wow.

"It is fine. Anyhow, there are quite a few dangerous monsters around. You'd best be careful." Artemis replies. Piper nods, her eyes troubled.

"We're always careful m'lady. But now we'll be extra careful." She says. The goddess of the hunt nods, a small smile on her face.

"Have a good day children. And be careful." The hunt leaves, not slowly either.

"Well, that was-" Percy starts. Suddenly a biting with whips at our faces. Frost crackles on our fingertips.

"Ah, Piper McLean. We meet again." We all look up, and see the terrifyingly beautiful figure of Khione.


End file.
